[Peace-discuss] Dan Hynes attacks Gov. Quinn with "Willie Horton ads"

Fri Jan 22 15:11:26 CST 2010

What's at stake for prisoner rights in the Illinois Democratic primary
for governor Feb 2? See below.

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Hey Tamms Year Ten folks,
GREAT NEWS:
Several of the men we advocated for have been transferred to regular
prisons. Just this week, Charles Freeman was transferred. He is the
one who wrote, "Lock yourself in your bathroom for the next 10 years
and tell me how it will affect your mind." He is the brother of TY10
activist Jerome Freeman, who was also in Tamms. What a relief. We will
be following his progress....
Phones have been installed at Tamms, and men are putting people on
their calling lists as we speak.
We are in contact (and solidarity) with fellow advocates in Maine for
their new bill to limit the terms of solitary confinement at the
supermax to only 30 days. If they pass this bill, it will be so
incredible.
BAD NEWS: With the Feb 2 primary coming up in Illinois, the men at
Tamms face a dire situation. Read below for a full synopsis. The
upshot is that we need to try to pass a law this session to make sure
these changes are put into law. Otherwise, a new administration could
reverse them.
And, we need you to volunteer for 2-4 hours to campaign for one of our
prison-reform allies. You can even do this by making some calls from
home! Supporting the elected officials who worked on this issue are is
essential to get where we want to go. Why? Because Tamms Year Ten is a
political campaign with a political goal. If you are happy about
anything we accomplished, then remember it happened through electoral
politics.
So, you may get a call from one of our dedicated volunteers to help
schedule you into a volunteer slot. Please say "YES, I'll help." We
literally have volunteer slots every day of the week. And, it is fun
to volunteer together. (See photo of us last Saturday!) Also, everyone
from Tamms Year Ten is hugely invited to attend the birthday party for
our bill sponsor Julie Hamos in Wilmette, on January 26 at 7pm.
Please help us by volunteering for Tamms Year Ten in the next 12 days!
LJR

______________________________________________
TY10 HISTORY AND UPDATE
BE PROUD
After two years of hard work, public education, and lobbying, we
achieved tremendous reforms--and the expectation of more to come. The
director of Human RIghts Watch said that he has never seen greater
reform of a prison from a grassroots campaign. Veteran activists told
us that this is the ONLY POSITIVE CHANGE in the Illinois criminal
justice system they have seen in 25 years. Congratulations to the
hundreds of people who pitched in and made this happen.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Through a public education campaign, and the introduction of
legislation, we got a critical mass of legislators to speak out on
this issue, and that caused Governor Quinn to take action. He hired a
new IDOC director (Michael Randle) and named review of Tamms his top
priority. The very first day on the job, Randle reviewed Tamms. After
four months, he announced his Ten Point Plan for reform. We criticized
the plan for not going far enough, and we are continuing to push for
more, but we are also very excited about some of the provisions, and
his plans to "evolve the prison."
The hiring of Randle has been a transformative force in the IDOC. His
thoughtful plans for comprehensive reform, and his level of
communication with prisoner advocates, is simply unheard of in
Illinois. Given the hideous conditions in our prisons, and the absence
of any public pressure for improving them, he offers great hope for
change.
BUT ALL COULD BE LOST
Unfortunately, Governor Quinn's opponent in the Democratic primary
(Dan Hynes) has launched vicious attack ads against Quinn and Randle.
This is based on the so-called "early release scandal." If you don't
know much about that issue, please don't believe Hynes, or the media
for that matter.
In granting some releases, Randle used an existing discretionary
program to shorten the sentences of prisoners by an average of 37
days. Why? Because these people with short sentences--“61 day wonders”
as some are called--are among the most wasteful and expensive to
incarcerate since they must be transported from their communities,
evaluated, oriented, and housed, and then, immediately transported
back to their communities for release. Some of these released people
reoffended. In a state with a 50% recidivism rate, that is not
surprising. After all, we don't provide anything in the way of
counseling, rehabilitation or treatment.
FEAR-MONGERING
Hynes has used the images of these prisoners (and the victim
associated with one of them) to make the most fear-mongering,
race-baiting attack ads possible. And the media has gone along. Quinn
said he didn't know about the program, and Randle has taken full
responsibility. Republicans have called for Randle to be fired.
IF QUINN LOSES
Quinn has lost a lot of traction because of this media campaign, which
is being called the "Willie Horton" of Illinois. If he loses, Randle
will most likely be fired. (That would have been true without this
scandal.) If Randle is fired, he won't be able to follow his vision
for reform at Tamms.
WHY WE NEED A LAW
The Ten Point Plan is not in law. There is nothing stopping a new
administration from reversing the changes, and using Tamms for a
long-term isolation with no limits. That is why it is more important
than ever to try to pass a law that, at the very least, keeps the
reforms we have in place. Our legislators--Rep. Julie Hamos, Rep.
Eddie Washington, Rep. Art Turner, Rep. Karen Yarbrough, Rep. Luis
Arroyo, Rep. Marlow Colvin, Sen. Iris Martinez and more--have
expressed the need and desire to put these changes into law. As we
speak, we are drafting legislation to make sure we preserve the gains
we have worked so hard for.
YOU ILLINOISANS SHOULD HELP
Supermax reform is not an issue that helps people win elections, but
many legislators have advocated for the prisoners at Tamms ANYWAY. Now
we are going to ask them to do it again. Show them your support NOW.
Help them. Help us. Help them help us.
CMON PEOPLE OF THE WORLD!
WE ARE SIMPLY ASKING FOR 2 to 4 HOURS FROM EACH PERSON!
(If you are out of state, you can donate to us for the gas money we
are spending!)
There are only 12 days before the election.
Think how much more interesting election day will be if you have an
investment in the results!
Contact for volunteering schedule:
TammsYearTen at gmail.com
773-241-4155
We have volunteer needs every day of the week for the next 12 days:
--every Saturday and Sunday at 10am in Northbrook, Waukegan, and Chicago.
--every Friday and Saturday around 5:30pm in Chicago.
--every single day from 9am to 9pm in Northbrook.
And do not miss our bill sponsor Julie Hamos' birthday party campaign
bash on January 26. This costs $10 for students and $15 for
supporters. It is FREE  if you volunteer on election day. If cost is
prohibitive, let me LJR know. I will pay for you to go.

Wilmette Theatre, January 26 at 7:00 PM
1122 Central Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091

_______________________________________________
IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM--RECENT ARTICLES ABOUT TAMMS
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Tamms torture? Some say a decade of solitary confinement has made
inmate insane: Inmate has spent 12 years at Tamms
BY GEORGE PAWLACZYK AND BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat, January 10, 2010
http://www.bnd.com/news/crime/story/1081831.html
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Is it worth it? State spends $92,000 per year per inmate to run Tamms prison
BY GEORGE PAWLACZYK AND BETH HUNDSDORFER - News-Democrat, December 31, 2009
http://www.bnd.com/179/story/1070059.html
This article will help you feel some taxpayer outrage about the cost
of Tamms--especially given the lack of evidence that it has any
legitimate penological purpose. The description of the card game, and
the quote by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart are particularly compelling.
_______________
Newcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2009: Art & Museums
By Jason Foumberg - Newcity, December 28, 2009
http://art.newcity.com/2009/12/28/newcitys-top-5-lists-of-2009-art-museums/
Here were some of many articles about it:
http://art.newcity.com/2009/06/08/eye-exam-mud-slinging/
http://therumpus.net/2009/07/dirty-pictures/
http://www.justseeds.org/blog/2009/06/illinois_torture_publicized_wi.html
Yay--the Tamms Year Ten mud-stenciling action (against torture in
Illinois) was named in the Newcity Art "Top 5 Groundbreakers of 2009."
We were beat only by the construction of The Modern Wing, Art
Institute of Chicago! Thanks to everyone who worked on that!!!
______________
News-Democrat wins national award for Tamms series
by News-Democrat, January 13, 2010
http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/1086672.html
Congratulations to these investigative reporters for this PRESTIGIOUS
AWARD for their stories about the treatment of prisoners at Tamms
supermax prison. They systematically debunked myths that have kept the
supermax in business for 12 years--revealing the fact that over half
the prisoners there never committed a crime while in prison,
highlighting the mistreatment of mentally ill prisoners, and
describing the morbid effects of long-term isolation. And they are
still hard at work!

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